


Good Boy

by EmeraldSands



Series: Whumptober 2020 [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I wrote this for me but y'all can read it if you want, Sickfic, Whump, Whumptober 2020, the trainer/Pokemon hurt/comfort my soft little heart longs for, underage whumpee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26834896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldSands/pseuds/EmeraldSands
Summary: Umbreon makes his trainer take a sick day. (For Whumptober 2020 day 5, theme: "where do you think you're going?")
Relationships: Ookido Shigeru | Gary Oak & Ookido Shigeru no Blacky | Gary Oak's Umbreon
Series: Whumptober 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957423
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Good Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Finally posting something for Whumptober! I've wanted to write something like this for ages, honestly, Pokemon acting as caretakers is peak tenderness. I've been in the mood to write Gary lately, so a lot of the stuff I put out this month will probably be putting him through it (sorry, Gary) but comfort is a vital aspect of whump for me so he'll be fine.
> 
> I had fun writing this! Hopefully I'll be getting my participation in this challenge off to a decent start here.

Gary was supposed to be heading north to do some fieldwork for Rowan, but he’d woken with a weight in his chest and an ache in his throat, and it was harder than it should’ve been to push himself up and get around his still-sleeping umbreon to get out of bed. He shivered—another bad sign, he normally thrived in snow and he knew he’d turned a heater on last night—but stubbornly grabbed his hair gel and a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom to go about a normal morning routine.

Fighting dizziness, he managed to get dressed and fix his hair, and only had to brace himself against the sink for a minute as he was rinsing the hair gel off his fingers. He noted his reflection—not bad, if he ignored the pallor, the dull eyes, and the unusual pinkness of his nose and cheeks.

He sighed, leaning forward to rest his forehead against the cold mirror. Who was he kidding?

He’d have to kid Professor Rowan, at least. Gary wasn’t ashamed to admit he thrived off of praise, and in the month he had been working with Rowan, he hadn’t managed to get a word of it from the guy. Being put out of commission wouldn’t help that.

He withdrew from the mirror and splashed some cold water on his face. It didn’t make him feel much better, but it did help a little. If he could get some caffeine in his system, he might be able to function. 

Still slightly dizzy, but not at risk of collapsing, he left the bathroom with a plan—pilfer some coffee from the coffee pot at the lab before he could be caught by an adult concerned about it stunting his growth, have a little chat with Rowan about the work, and be on his way as swiftly as possible.

Umbreon stood in his way, fixing him with a look that flawlessly communicated, _Where do you think you’re going?_

“I know, Umbreon. It sucks. But I—” a cough interrupted him, which did not help his case “—I have to do this.” Gary tried walking around Umbreon, but he moved to block the way again. 

“You know, I can just return you to your ball if you’re gonna make this difficult,” Gary pointed out.

“Breon, umbree.” Umbreon flicked his ears dismissively. He could see Gary wasn’t reaching for the ball. He took one of Gary’s hands in his mouth, gentle but firm, and tugged in the direction of the bed.

“Hey, who’s whose trainer here?”

Umbreon let his sharp teeth sink into Gary’s hand a little.

“Ow!” Gary put up his free hand in surrender. “Okay, point taken. You win.”

He was hoping Umbreon would release his hand, but his partner was insistent on leading him back to bed. It was only once they were back in bed that Umbreon was apparently satisfied, licking the hand he’d bitten a minute ago and snuggling up to Gary’s chest.

“Apology accepted.” Gary scratched behind his partner’s ears until he had to stop to muffle a cough. Maybe he’d be better off if he took something for that, but he didn’t have anything on hand and a walk to the nearest pharmacy was out of the question.

Umbreon licked his cheek with a sympathetic whimper. At least he had that.

* * *

Gary was asleep when Umbreon’s keen ears picked up the sound of footsteps outside the door. The subsequent knocking woke Gary, who groaned and muttered one of those words that always earned the response _Swear jar_ when they were at home. (Which usually prompted him to say it again.)

Struggling into a sitting position, Gary reached for a notepad and pen, slowly and shakily wrote something down, and held out the note to Umbreon, who carefully took it between his teeth. “Try and get that under the door, ‘kay?”

Umbreon nodded dutifully, hopping off the bed and padding to the door. He dropped the note at the door and pushed it under with his nose, barking once to try and get the person on the other side’s attention in the right direction. Hopefully it worked—his trainer broke into a sneezing fit and he had to see to that.

Gary sniffled pitifully as Umbreon returned to his side. His skin felt hot, but he was shivering. Umbreon pressed against him, as close as possible, hoping that was the right thing to do.

“I feel like hell, Umbreon,” he said, lying back and glaring at the ceiling. “At least you’re here.”

He was right—Umbreon was there, and was going to look after him as well as possible. Gary had done the same for him since he was just a little eevee, after all; it was the least he could do for his trainer, his partner, his best friend.

This illness was clearly taking a toll on Gary—he was asleep again soon, all his energy going into trying to heal.

 _Good boy,_ Umbreon thought affectionately, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He tended to sleep fitfully when he was feverish, but for now, his sleep was quiet and peaceful. He was cute, in the same way a helpless baby eevee was cute.

Umbreon might not be able to protect his trainer from nightmares, but he could sure try.

* * *

Gary was woken yet again by knocking on the door, and yet again cursed under his breath. He probably had to get up for this one and his head was killing him. Umbreon seemed hesitant to let him up, but allowed it, staying close beside him as he stumbled to the door. He struggled with the knob for a bit before eventually getting the door open and being seen in this pathetic state by Professor Rowan himself.

“Oh, you are ill,” was his opening statement, which Gary was just cognizant enough to bristle at the implications of. He handed Gary a thermos. “I called your grandfather and he suggested I bring you this. I have work to do, but I can ask one of my aides to look after you if you need it.”

“Nah, Umbreon’s got things covered here,” Gary waved off the offer.

Rowan looked down at Umbreon, who had taken Gary’s hand again and was gently urging him back to bed. “I can see that. Well, let somebody know if you change your mind. Get well soon.”

And then he was gone, pulling the door closed behind him so Gary wouldn’t have to struggle with it.

Gary blinked, trying and failing to process the interaction he’d just had with his gruff superior. “Hey, Umbreon? What just happened?”

* * *

Umbreon managed to get Gary back to bed, where he grappled with the container he’d been given until he got it open, drank from it, and immediately started coughing.

Once he stopped, he looked at Umbreon with a weak half-smile. “Pathetic, isn’t it? Can’t even drink anything without nearly choking on it.”

Umbreon nuzzled his chest consolingly, murmuring in sympathy. He tried again, managing to drink more without another coughing fit, then shut the container and stroked Umbreon’s ears until he fell asleep.

With a soft sigh, Umbreon nestled against him once more. He was snoring softly like he only did when he was sick, and he was still too hot, but close to his chest Umbreon could feel his breaths were deep and even and his heartbeat was steady. He was going to be fine—they just had to ride this out.

Umbreon hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but was woken by movement and a whimper beside him. Of course, nightmares. Umbreon debated how to handle the situation. A quick nip to the ear would wake him, but it would also startle him and cause him more unnecessary pain, and Umbreon was hesitant to do that. Instead, he nosed his trainer a couple times, then started licking Gary’s cheek in a steady rhythm, like he might to soothe a baby eevee. 

It worked—Gary relaxed and went quiet again, unconsciously holding onto Umbreon. “Good boy,” he mumbled. “Thanks, Umbreon.”

A couple hours later, Gary’s fever broke, and Umbreon could finally rest.


End file.
